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This Lord’s Day it is our pleasure to have Dr. Ryan Martin as our guest speaker. He serves as pastor of First Baptist Church, Granite Falls, Minnesota. His sermon will focus on the victory that belongs to those who trust the risen Christ.

The sermon for this Lord’s Day will be delivered by Mark Buhr. It focuses on the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the life of each believer.

We welcome our guest speaker, Michael Riley, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Wakefield, Michigan. His sermon text emphasizes the need to come to Christ as a child, that is, to humble ourselves.

This Lord’s Day we will observe the Lord’s Supper. On these occasions we build build the entire worship service around the Table. In our upcoming service we will explain many of the things that happen when the church gathers for Communion.

Peter wrote to comfort first century Christians facing persecution for their faith. He challenged them to remember the grace of God—grace that secures our future hope (1 Peter 1:3-5). Christ put this grace on display in the salvation he secured. Old Testament prophets predicted this grace, but Peter says they found two themes perplexing: the suffering of Christ and the glory of Christ. They couldn’t figure out how these seemingly incompatible ideas fit together. Today, with the benefit of hindsight, we understand what they longed to know!

Many Christians equate worship with triumphal songs that only communicate happiness. They seldom, if ever, sing songs of sorrow and lament. This is a different kind of service. To those who assess the worth of all things by entertainment value it will feel unnatural.It is designed to help us grieve over the death of our Lord—a death caused by our sin. Only such grief can prepare us to rejoice this Lord’s Day, Resurrection Day.

Our obedience to God’s word is not merely a personal matter; the strength of the church depends on it.

Titus brought news from Corinth to Paul. He reported

that the Corinthians had responded to Paul’s admonitions. They had repented and declared their allegiance to Paul, and thus to the Lord. The key idea is that Paul’s correction brought them sorrow, but it was the right kind of sorrow, sorrow that produced repentance. And their repentance brought joy to all the community of faith.

The Corinthians could add the church to their lives. It was one interest of many. They could still fit into their society completely. The church and its mission was not the whole of life, not the center of life. The whole and center—that’s the kind of commitment Paul exemplified. That’s the kind of commitment Paul calls us to. That’s the kind of commitment that defined true Christian love for Paul.

The Bible makes much of holiness. It is the dominant theme in the Bible’s description of God character. It is the attribute that gathers up and unifies all other attributes. Before his throne angelic beings cry, “Holy, Holy, Holy!”—never ending, never tiring, never bored. This holy God requires holiness of his people: “Be holy for I am holy.” In fact, the author of Hebrews commands, “Strive . . . for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.”